Dev vs. The Oz Brothers
The battlefield was stained with chaos, cries of pain and fury mixing with dust and blood. Deep lay gasping on the ground, pain searing through his ribs, while Zora'oZ raised the rod high above his head.
"I'll end this weakling right now," Zora growled, his voice dripping with venom.
And then—Dev appeared.
He wasn't the biggest. He wasn't the fastest. But something in his eyes—that quiet fire—cut through the noise. He stepped in front of Deep without a second thought, facing the towering forms of the Oz Brothers—Corner'oZ and Break'oZ.
They grinned.
"You shouldn't have come alone," Corner'oZ sneered.
Dev didn't respond. He just clenched his fists.
The attack came fast.
One brother lunged with a haymaker, the other swept around to block the retreat. Their movements were synchronized like twin predators on a hunt.
Dev parried one blow, ducked another, but their momentum was relentless.
He was overwhelmed.
Punch after punch crashed into him. Elbows, knees, slams—Dev barely kept up. His feet slid across the dirt as they drove him back. Every time he tried to strike, one would absorb the blow while the other attacked.
And then—
They went for his leg.
Corner'oZ wrapped an arm around his torso, while Break'oZ twisted his leg unnaturally sideways.
SNAP!
The sound wasn't bone, but it was close.
Dev screamed, agony lancing through his body. His cries echoed over the battlefield like the wail of a wounded animal. His vision blurred. His knee buckled. He collapsed to one side, the brothers laughing like hyenas circling prey.
Not far away, Zora raised the rod, eyes locked on Deep's skull.
"You'll die like the insect you are."
From the shadows, Corner'oZ stepped toward Dev, his voice low and cruel. "You're pathetic," he said coldly. "Not even worthy of The Shield. Just a crybaby. Can't fight. Can't lead. Can't even protect your friends."
Dev's breath hitched.
His fingers curled in the dirt. His shoulders shook.
Tears fell—quiet, unbidden, shimmering against the dust-caked grime on his cheeks.
Watching weakly from the ground, Deep's eyes widened. He recognized the trembling. The slow build. The shift.
He whispered, barely audible, "This isn't good…"
And then—
Dev snapped.
He stood. Not limping. Not crying. Not broken.
He stood like something ancient had awakened inside him.
His eyes—once soft—were now wild. Empty. Not the eyes of a boy.
A beast had taken his place.
In a blur, Dev launched forward and—BOOM!—drove a single, explosive punch straight into Corner'oZ's face.
CRACK!
Corner'oZ's body lifted off the ground—lifted—and crumpled midair before smashing into the earth like a broken doll.
Unconscious.
Just like that.
Zora turned, his rod frozen mid-air, his expression shattered by disbelief. "W-What the hell was that?! Corner! Get up!"
Dev turned to him, face still soaked with tears—but his expression was hollow. Terrifying.
Zora backed away. "Even if you knocked him out… you can't win. Look at you—you're broken. You can't even stand properly!"
But before the last word finished leaving his mouth—
His knees buckled.
His eyes rolled back.
He collapsed.
Unconscious.
Silence spread like wildfire.
Vaibhav, standing near the fringe of the fight, could only gape. "What just happened…?"
Deep, groaning as he forced himself into a seated position, blood trickling down his chin, managed a cough-laced answer.
"Dev is a monster," he muttered.
"When he cries… he turns into something else. A heartless beast."
And for a moment—even the chaos of war paused, watching the silent storm that was Dev, standing over the ruins of his enemies, tears still rolling down an emotionless face.
---
Dev & Deep's Rampage
Dev was unhinged.
His mind blank. His heart pounding with one thing—rage.
The battlefield trembled beneath his wrath.
Fists like sledgehammers. Eyes glowing with raw fury.
He grabbed a Demolition fighter by the collar and slammed him into another. Bones cracked. Screams echoed.
He was no longer the quiet, hesitant boy The Shield once knew.
He was a storm.
And just when the enemies thought they might get a breather—
Deep returned.
Blood still dripped from his mouth, his ribs burning from Zora's blow. But his eyes were sharp. Focused.
And when he joined Dev, it was like chaos found rhythm.
They moved like monsters with a shared mind—
Dev charging head-on like a battering ram,
Deep flanking from the sides like a shadow with fists.
No one could stop them.
One enemy tried to flee—Dev grabbed him by the ankle and hurled him back into the fray like a ragdoll.
Another swang fist behind his back—Deep dodged, and broke his arm in one swift move.
The battlefield was collapsing.
Fighters from The Demolition, who once roared with confidence, now whimpered, crawling away, dropping weapons, screaming, "Fall back! FALL BACK!"
But then—
Silence.
A presence stepped onto the bloodied field.
Heavy. Cold. Commanding.
Vijay.
The Vice-Captain of The Demolition.
A towering figure cloaked in calm cruelty.
His eyes scanned the wreckage around him with the disappointment of a king watching his soldiers fail.
Deep was the first to strike, letting out a roar and launching forward with a flurry of fists.
Vijay didn't move.
Then—
WHAM.
One open-handed palm smashed into Deep's chest like a wrecking ball.
His body lifted off the ground and crashed into the dirt, skidding several feet.
Unconscious.
Just. Like. That.
Dev blinked. "No…"
He turned to face Vijay—his body trembling, not with fear, but with fury.
"You… you'll pay for that."
He lunged, dodging the first blow, ducking under the second, and unleashed everything he had into a spinning back kick.
110% power.
BOOM.
The shockwave cracked the earth beneath them. Dust exploded upward, the very ground groaning beneath the force.
It should have broken a normal man in half.
But Vijay… didn't budge.
His body absorbed the hit like steel. Not even a step back. Not even a blink.
Then—
CRACK!
A knee drove into Dev's gut.
Dev's body crumpled, air torn from his lungs. He hit the ground hard, coughing, dazed.
"Y-You…" he tried to rise.
Too late.
Vijay brought down a final strike—calm, clean, and merciless.
Dev's body went limp.
Silence returned once more.
All that remained standing… was Vaibhav.
He stood a few feet away, frozen.
Dust still floated in the air like mist. The cries and chaos were gone.
And there was Vijay, turning toward him.
His stare was cold. Direct.
Vaibhav's fists clenched.
His throat dry.
Every instinct screamed: Run.
But he didn't.
Because Dev and Deep had fought like warriors.
And now—he had no choice but to face the storm himself.
---
Vaibhav vs. Vijay
The wind howled across the ruined battlefield, carrying dust, blood, and despair.
Dev and Deep lay broken behind him, their bodies twitching faintly, barely conscious.
And standing alone now… was Vaibhav.
He wasn't the strongest.
He wasn't even in the top fighters of The Shield.
But he was all that remained.
His hands were already bruised. His lip cut open. Sweat poured from his forehead.
Still, he stood tall—eyes locked on Vijay, the juggernaut who had just decimated two monsters like it was nothing.
I can't win this, Vaibhav thought. But if I run now… who'll stand up next?
He tightened his stance, breathing steady.
He remembered every lesson.
Every form.
Every moves.
He moved.
Fists danced in perfect martial rhythm—each movement elegant, calculated, lethal.
But Vijay was a wall.
Every punch Vaibhav threw was slipped with ease. Every kick blocked with frightening calmness.
He ducked, weaved, countered—and then, with one backhand, Vijay sent Vaibhav flying.
He hit the dirt hard, rolling across stones and blood-soaked grass. His body screamed in pain.
"Stay down," Vijay said coldly, stepping forward.
Vaibhav wiped the blood from his lips. He pushed up on shaky arms.
"No…" he growled, voice barely audible. "I won't give up. Not while they're still breathing…"
From the sidelines, Varun shouted, panic and heartbreak in his voice, "Vaibhav, STOP! You don't have to do this! Just give up!"
But Vaibhav didn't even look back.
He spat the blood from his mouth, locked eyes with Vijay again, and stood.
"I won't give up."
Vijay smirked.
"Then you'll die."
He charged forward—faster than before. More serious. A blur of destruction.
He raised his arm—ready to smash Vaibhav's skull into the ground.
But then—
Time froze.
Someone stopped him.
The voice was quiet. Calm. But it cut through the battlefield like thunder.
Vijay's eyes narrowed.
---
The battlefield froze.
Dust hung in the air like ash after a storm.
Bloodied fighters paused mid-motion.
Even the wind seemed to hush.
All eyes turned toward the figure who had just stepped in—effortlessly halting Vijay's strike.
A presence that didn't shout—but roared in silence.
Vaibhav, barely standing, looked up through bloodshot eyes.
And then—his breath caught.
It was her.
Shristi.
---
Minutes Earlier…
Far from the chaos, in the quiet shadows of a crumbling corridor, Shristi sat beside Annu, the distant echoes of battle rumbling in the background.
Shristi stared at the floor, her expression unreadable.
Shristi: "What do you think the outcome will be?"
Annu hesitated, fidgeting with her fingers. "The Demolition has a huge advantage. None of The Shield's main members are there. Wick… Nick… Dipanshu… they're not on the field."
Shristi nodded slowly. "Exactly."
Then she stood.
Abrupt. Quiet. Purposeful.
Annu blinked. "Where are you going?"
Shristi didn't answer at first. She turned her eyes toward the battlefield, a fire igniting behind them.
"I'm going to fight."
Annu shot to her feet, grabbing her arm. "Have you lost it?! You're not part of this! You're not a gang member, Shristi! You have nothing to prove!"
Shristi's head turned.
Her expression wasn't angry—it was certain.
Her voice was calm, each word like steel sliding from a sheath.
"Who said I'm not part of The Shield?"
Annu's breath hitched.
The world seemed to tilt.
"You… you're not joking, are you?"
Shristi took a deep breath, standing taller than ever.
"I am the Queen of The Shield."
Annu stood frozen, speechless as Shristi walked away—each step echoing louder than thunder.
And in that moment, history changed forever.
---
Now, in the present…
Shristi stood before Vijay.
Unshaken. Unflinching.
The battlefield watched in stunned silence as the only one brave enough to challenge a monster wasn't a fighter… wasn't a captain…
But a girl who now wore her crown without needing gold.
The Queen had arrived.
Vaibhav, half-conscious, allowed a soft smile to touch his lips.
But wasn't sure what she can do.
The Shield wasn't falling anymore.
It had just been reborn.
To be continued...